IT is believed he could well be the last of the Lovat Scouts – the famous fighting regiment which helped drive the Nazis from Italy in the Second World War’s dying months.
But although Willie Brown’s military career took him all the way from the ice fields of Canada to the Alps, he has remained steadfastly part of the Govan community in which he was born and raised.
Today, the veteran and his family are looking back on a life well lived as he celebrates his 100th birthday.
Now a resident of Cardonald, Mr Brown has been taking the milestone in his stride and is determined the ageing process will not get in the way of what he most enjoys, which includes a spot of yoga in the morning even though he broke his hip a few years ago.
“I don’t find being 100 any different from 95 actually,” he said.
Mr Brown volunteered to join the Lovat Scouts – formed in January 1900 for service in the Second Boer War by Simon Fraser, 14th Lord Lovat – when he was just 19.
In its early years, the regiment was commanded by an American, Major Frederick Russell Burnham, the British Army Chief of Scouts under Lord Roberts, who described its soldiers as “half wolf and half jackrabbit”.
With the Second World War grinding on, the unit was dispatched to Canada for specialist cold terrain training.
From there, the troops travelled to Europe, arriving in Naples in July 1944.
They became an integral part of the campaign which eventually secured the complete surrender of German armed forces throughout Italy in May 1945.
Mr Brown vividly remembers his encounter with Lord Lovat when he attended an army recruitment session at the Grand Hotel in Glasgow.
“I volunteered to join the Scouts in 1939 and I met Lord Lovat,” said Mr Brown.
“He was an excellent guy, a charming guy. I remember he had a lot of whisky with him, but I didn’t get a dram.
“It turned out that only the people who were not appointed [to join the regiment] got one.”
Following his selection, Mr Brown was sent to Canada where he was put through gruelling training sessions on the unforgiving territory of Jasper National Park in the west of the IT is believed he could well be the last of the Lovat Scouts – the famous fighting regiment which helped drive the Nazis from Italy in the Second World War’s dying months.
But although Willie Brown’s military career took him all the way from the ice fields of Canada to the Alps, he has remained steadfastly part of the Govan community in which he was born and raised.
Today, the veteran and his family are looking back on a life well lived as he celebrates his 100th birthday.
Now a resident of Cardonald, Mr Brown has been taking the milestone in his stride and is determined the ageing process will not get in the way of what he most enjoys, which includes a spot of yoga in the morning even though he broke his hip a few years ago.
“I don’t find being 100 any different from 95 actually,” he said.
Mr Brown volunteered to join the Lovat Scouts – formed in January 1900 for service in the Second Boer War by Simon Fraser, 14th Lord Lovat – when he was just 19.
In its early years, the regiment was commanded by an American, Major Frederick Russell Burnham, the British Army Chief of Scouts under Lord Roberts, who described its soldiers as “half wolf and half jackrabbit”.
With the Second World War grinding on, the unit was dispatched to Canada for specialist cold terrain training.
From there, the troops travelled to Europe, arriving in Naples in July 1944.
They became an integral part of the campaign which eventually secured the complete surrender of German armed forces throughout Italy in May 1945.
Mr Brown vividly remembers his encounter with Lord Lovat when he attended an army recruitment session at the Grand Hotel in Glasgow.
“I volunteered to join the Scouts in 1939 and I met Lord Lovat,” said Mrcountry.
“It was decided that there were enough troops for the desert but not enough troops capable of fighting in Arctic conditions,” he explained.
“So I had to become aware of the hidden dangers of Arctic conditions. The main trouble in these conditions is frostbite, avalanche and crevasse.”
The training would prove crucial when the regiment eventually engaged the Nazis in the Alps after battling up from Naples and through Monte Cassino.
“When we got up into the Alps we had to cope with the retreating Germans,” said Mr Brown.
“We lost more men due to booby traps there than in many other areas.”
Returning home from war, Mr Brown’s life took a very different direction, as he developed a love of oil and watercolour painting.
His interest and skill enabled him to secure a place at the Art School in Glasgow, where he later earned a diploma.
He went on to join the teaching staff at Anniesland College, remaining there for 36 years and becoming head of the art department. Mr Brown has also, throughout his life, retained strong links with Govan, the place of his birth.
From a young age he was an active and enthusiastic member of St Mary’s Govan Church, and it was there that he married his late wife, Betty, in April 1949.
The church was later amalgamated with Linthouse Church to form Govan and Linthouse Parish, with Mr Brown continuing over the years to serve it as an elder and, now, its oldest parishioner.
Paying tribute, his family said Mr Brown had a deep and irrepressible joie de vivre. “Dad’s longevity is largely due to his very positive outlook on life,” said his daughter, Liz.
“He has always looked on the bright side. He says he still feels the same as he did as a young man, never permitting the ageing process ‘to get in the way’.”
Ms Brown also said her father was “looking forward to being 101” and that, although he missed out on a “wee dram” the day he was recruited into the Lovat Scouts, he has certainly made up for it since with a night cap or two before retiring.
She said her father tells her that “it doesn’t have to be single malt – look at the price tag first”, adding that his other “secret to long life” is never to eat too much, “although he is addicted to custard creams”.
“He still to this day, carries out his yoga stretching exercises in the morning despite having broke his hip a few years ago,” she added.
“Sadly, my sister Catriona who lives in London, cannot join Dad and I today to celebrate due to lockdown but she, along with his grandchildren and great grandchildren wish him a very happy 100th Birthday.”
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